Part 20 (1/2)
”I don't know if it will work, but you can try. What I know is more than six months out of date. It won't help them, but if they believe it will and you can use it to your advantage, do it.”
”All right. Good. Thank you.” Alisa sat straight in her seat and tapped for the comm channel she had already identified. ”If they go for it, we'll find a way back out again before they get a chance to question us.” Had she already said that? For some reason, her thoughts seemed a tad scattered. ”This could work,” she said with determination. ”We just need to buy a little time. Enough for the Sta.r.s.eers to move their temple and enough for Mica to figure out how to extricate the Nomad so it can sneak away in the mists.” Admittedly, the latter motivated her far more than the former, but she didn't want to see the Sta.r.s.eers obliterated, either. Whether they deserved it or not did not matter to her. They still had the answer to the question of where her daughter had gone.
Leonidas grunted noncommittally.
”Commander Farrow?” Alisa asked, sure she had the right s.h.i.+p targeted but doubtful as to whether he would be the one to answer. If the Sta.r.s.eers had been muddling people's minds, he might not even be alert enough to answer. ”This is Captain Marchenko. I need to talk to you. Sapphire Status,” she added, referring to the system of color codes for a.s.signing priorities and threats.
Several long seconds pa.s.sed. Would they ignore her altogether? Maybe they knew how depleted the temple's s.h.i.+eld was, and they were completely focused on defeating it.
”You're not in your usual s.h.i.+p, Captain,” a male voice finally responded. Commander Farrow.
”No, sir. The Sta.r.s.eers have my freighter locked down. But I've escaped from the temple with a prisoner.”
”Unless you have that Naidoo woman in your backseat, I'm not interested.”
On the other side of the temple, another Alliance Cobra was. .h.i.t. It was only a glancing blow. The s.h.i.+p wobbled once and started to recover, but abruptly the thrusters turned off. It plummeted to the ice, cras.h.i.+ng alongside another wreck.
Alisa's plan to help the Sta.r.s.eers made her uneasy, especially when they could do that. Further, she did not know all the politics here. Was the Alliance justified in this attack? Even if it was, they were losing so many fighter s.h.i.+ps. Was it truly worth it to tangle with Sta.r.s.eers?
”I have someone else that I know you've been looking for, Commander,” Alisa said, almost as if a mental nudge had prompted her.
”Such as?”
”Colonel Hieronymus Adler. I've heard the Alliance wants him.” Alisa had no idea if the commander knew why the Alliance wanted him. The three suns knew she didn't. But even if Farrow didn't, he ought to be aware of how much the government was willing to pay for his delivery. She a.s.sumed he would attempt to move all the suns and all their h.e.l.ls to obtain him.
”He's your prisoner?” Farrow sounded skeptical.
”I've got him in this very Striker with me,” Alisa said, adding indignation to her voice, as if she could capture a cyborg easily any time she wished and it was offensive to imply otherwise. She pointedly did not look over her shoulder to see Leonidas's reaction. ”He's drugged out of his mind and drooling like a baby. I don't know how long that will last, so you might want to invite me in so I can deliver him.”
”You're offering to deliver him to our back door?”
”Your front door if you want.”
”What's in it for you, Marchenko?”
”I told you. My freighter is down there, and the Sta.r.s.eers aren't letting it go. You blow up that temple, and the only thing I own in the universe gets blown up with it. I've got crew and pa.s.sengers on there, Commander. Watching them get blown up, that's a problem for me.”
”What do you want from me?” Farrow did not sound overly moved by the plight of her crew and pa.s.sengers.
”Cease fire while I drop him off. Cease fire from all of your vessels.”
”You want those Sta.r.s.eer b.a.s.t.a.r.ds to get away?”
”I want my s.h.i.+p to get away. Look, my engineer is planting some explosives to break their docking clamps. She just needs more time to make that happen. Then you can go back to pummeling the Sta.r.s.eers into the ice.” Alisa hoped the commander did not know that the temple was ambulatory and could eventually escape. ”You think I care about them? We were prisoners down there until you came along and they got distracted. My s.h.i.+p is still imprisoned.”
”Odd how you got a different s.h.i.+p.”
”Odd? I'm good, Commander. Look up my record. This isn't the first enemy s.h.i.+p I've stolen.”
Alisa slapped the comm to cut the channel. Let him think about her words and mull them over. Then if he was intrigued, he could contact her. She just hoped he didn't know exactly what had happened back on Perun, that she had risked a lot to keep Leonidas from being captured there. If he had that whole story, he might not be inclined to believe that she had imprisoned him now.
”You've stolen other s.h.i.+ps before?” Leonidas asked dryly.
”Don't tell me you're surprised.”
”Not really. I wouldn't mind hearing the story.”
It was a silly time to worry about what he thought, but she couldn't help but smile, pleased that he wanted to hear about her exploits.
”Perhaps I can share it while I'm digging those rocks into your back,” she said.
He snorted. ”Perhaps.”
Alisa switched to the Sta.r.s.eer comm channel in time to hear someone say, ”The eight are united. They're targeting one of the wars.h.i.+ps. Just keep the fighter craft busy, boys.”
”And girls,” a woman added.
”Boys and girls, yes.”
As the Sta.r.s.eer darts kept harrying the Alliance fighters, Alisa flew up toward the top of the mist where the Star Nautilus, Farrow's wars.h.i.+p, lurked. It was still shooting relentlessly at the temple, but as she drew close, one of the s.h.i.+p's e-cannon ports exploded in a smoky flash of white. That was when she noticed that three other weapons' ports had also been damaged, if not outright destroyed.
The Alliance had the superior numbers by far in this battle, and the temple's s.h.i.+eld was weakening, but would they truly win? Even if they did, how much would they lose in the process?
The comm flashed, and Alisa switched back to the wars.h.i.+p's channel.
”Yes, Commander?” She tamped down her natural tendency to sound perky and insouciant with the words.
”I'm taking the Nautilus up into the mist to get out of their range. Come join us in our hangar bay.”
Alisa thought about pointing out how hard it was to navigate in the mists, but she was more concerned about getting her deal and not simply flying into the enemy's hands. She grimaced, hating that she was now in a position to think of an Alliance s.h.i.+p as ”the enemy.”
”And you'll cease fire?” Alisa asked.
”If your story is true, and you do, indeed, have a drugged Colonel Adler for us, we'll help you get your s.h.i.+p back.”
Alisa scowled. That would not do anything to stop the fighting. And she did not see how Farrow could guarantee the safety of her s.h.i.+p when they were firing at the s.h.i.+eld currently protecting it.
Alisa muted Farrow and switched to her regular comm unit. ”Mica, are you there? What's the Nomad's status?”
”We're still here. Enjoying the light show.”
”And working on a way to get out of there, I hope?”
”I've planted more explosives, and I'm ready to detonate them, but we have the same problem as before. If I blow them, it will most likely damage the hull of the Nomad. And it's also unlikely that we can escape through the s.h.i.+eld unless you can guide us out the same way you went. The sensors here read it as a solid barrier.”
”I had help getting this s.h.i.+p out. I'm not sure if my guide is interested in helping again. I haven't heard from him in a while.” Alisa had lost track of which one was the robed pilot's dart and had no idea if he was still alive.
The comm on the console flashed. ”Captain Marchenko? Are you going to work with us? We're prepared to fly out of range and lower our s.h.i.+elds so we can invite you and your captive aboard. We'd hate for him to wake up while you have him behind you. Cyborgs are known to be irritable when they wake up.”
Leonidas did not say anything, not with the comm open, but Alisa sensed him glaring out the canopy and up at the wars.h.i.+p.